be free, be happy, be peaceful

May all find the teacher within to guide oneself towards unconditional love and peace

Friday, May 2, 2014

"Do you think non-attachment is possible?"

"Do you think non-attachment is possible?" Someone asked.

What if somebody tells us "No."

Does this prove to us that non-attachment is impossible, or unrealistic, or impractical? Nope.

What if somebody tells us "Yes."

Does this guarantee and assure us that we will be free from doubts, attachment, egoism and ignorance, and will not be disturbed, nor affected, nor influenced, nor determined by all the qualities of names and forms? Nope.

What if somebody tells us "It depends on each individual's effort and determination to purify the mind, to free the mind from all kinds of desires, restlessness, egoism and ignorance, to turn the mind inward, to allow the mind to perceive the truth of names and forms as they are, without being contaminated nor influenced by any impurities or conditioned and limited thinking and beliefs. Only through oneself realizing the truth of things as they are, not being influenced by any thinking and beliefs in the mind, then naturally one doesn't even need to practice non-attachment, as there won't be any attachment towards any names and forms will arise in the liberated mind."

Will this answer clear all our doubts and make all our attachment, fear and worry disappear? Nope.

It doesn't matter what answer we get, we will still need to find out the answer of our doubts, or find out the truth through our own effort, through our own direct experience and realize the truth by ourselves, to clear all our doubts.

Whether other people or our teacher is completely be free
from ignorance, egoism and attachment or not, it's nothing to do with our own practice of
letting go of attachment, nor has anything to do with our own realization of the truth, or our own
liberation from ignorance, egoism and attachment.
That's why in (serious) silent meditation retreat, we are basically being on our own to contemplate upon the truth, through observing noble silence throughout the entire retreat. There's no conversation, nor interaction, nor discussion about this and that. Talking and discussing about non-attachment doesn't free us from ignorance, egoism and attachment, nor will give us liberation.

Whatever doubts we have, the only answer that will remove all our doubts is to turn the outgoing mind inward, and find the answer from within, and it's not coming from somebody else telling us about what they know or don't know, nor it's coming from reading books with all the information about this and that.

Even if a liberated being is right in front of us, and talks to us about Dharma (The truth), it still won't remove our doubts or ignorance, unless we realize the truth by ourselves, through our own effort of self-inquiry or contemplation.